Imprisioned Burmese Labour Rights Activist Dies

Burmese labour rights activist Htay Lwin Oo died in a
Mandalay prison earlier this wee. He had been suffering from
tuberculosis. Htay Lwin Oo was a respected teacher and
member of the main opposition party, the National League for
Democracy. Arrested on 21 December 2003 and sentenced to 7
years' imprisonment under section 5(J) of the Junta's
draconian Emergency Provisions Act, he was due for release
in December 2009.

The Thailand-based Assistance
Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) called Htay Lwin
Oo’s death unnecessary. “Tuberculosis can be treated,
but the junta left him untreated,” said Bo Kyi,
joint-secretary of the AAPP. “There are quite a few
political prisoners facing certain death because of the
junta's harsh treatment of political prisoners,” Bo Kyi
said.

Htay Lwin Oo's death brings the number of Burmese
political prisoners who have died since the 1988 "People
Power" uprising to 138, according to the
AAPP.

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